Calf pain when walking uphill, Pred or inflammation?

[Dochaz]

I'm experiencing quite severe pain in my calves, but worse on the right, when walking uphill which I can't really avoid when I leave the house. I don't know whether to put it down to a side effect of Prednisone (4th month of treatment for GCA, but I had all the symptoms of PMR too) or to the condition itself, lack of oxygen getting through to the muscles. Otherwise I'm feeling pretty well, and the burning sensation stops as soon as I rest. Is it just something to put up with, an inconvenience in the grand scheme of things?

[jinasc]

Does it reduce when you stop and rest for5 mins and then you can start to walk again. If so, look up claudication. Just put 'claudiction' in your search engine and you can then read up about it.

Claudication is pain caused by too little blood flow to muscles during exercise. Most often this pain occurs in the legs after walking at a certain pace and for a certain amount of time — depending on the severity of the condition.

Someone will be along to explain it better than I can.

[Dochaz in reply to jinasc]

Thanks for your reply. It stops when I start going downhill and when I rest, and generally it recedes after the first hour of walking. Maybe just stiffness until I get warmed up. I'm lucky to be able to walk for a couple of hours every 2 or 3 days with rest days in between. And I go to a Pilates class once a week. So trying to keep fit and keep the old muscles in working order! Pred has given me back a lot of mobility... I can pull off a jumper over my head again and climb stairs without pain in the top of my legs, things I wasn't able to do before treatment. So generally I'm doing ok. So grateful for the feedback from people in this group. 💕

[PMRpro Ambassador]

As jinasc suggests - I think it sounds more like peripheral vascilar disease of some sort that is reducing the blood flow through the arteries to the muscles so that when you ask them to do a bit more even if they are OK at rest.

You should ask your GP to refer your to the vascular team for assessment to decide if it is that or maybe something more directly to do with the GCA. They can do tests and scans tofind where the reduction in blood flow is - it may be localised with a short narrowing of the artery or it may be more generalised.

[Dochaz in reply to PMRpro]

I'll be checking in with my doctor after my next blood work on Wednesday so I'll ask him what he recommends. Thanks for all the support. I really appreciate it 💖

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Dochaz]

The other possibility is that once you get warmed up the blood flow in your legs improves - but probably the only doctors who can differentiate is the vascular team.

[Hours]

Happens to me all the time, about a year in Pmr was really bad, seems to have improved over the last six months, still happens but not so bad, Had all the test for PAD everything was okay.

[bert403]

I had GCA and on prednisone during that time for 3yrs. When I would walk at faster pace than normal my calf would get awful pain in left leg. Also toes would get numb. Had to stop and rest until pain was gone, but would start up again. I needed to have a stent inserted on side of knee to get more blood flow to foot. I walk everyday on treadmill 1 to 2 hrs and all is good. Off prednisone 4 yrs. See Vascular Dr and get ultra sound of arteries.

[Dochaz in reply to bert403]

They did a Doppler scan when they were trying to work out what was wrong with me in February of this year. Nothing showed up then. Glad to hear you made it out the other end of GCA... gives me hope!

[Keystarburst]

I was unlucky enough to start with PMR/GCA symptoms in October 2020 and then in November 2020 claudication developed in both calfs overnight. I was devastated as I normally walked for a couple hours over the hills where we live early morning and one flat walk in the afternoons at least 5 times a week. Like you I live up a hillside and can only walk up or down hill. It took 6 months for both diagnoses ie PMR/GCA and POAD! I still can't believe I started with both things overnight and was convinced they were connected. I've been assured by both Rheumatology and Vascular that it is not possible. I had Doppler, untrasound doppler and CT angiograms to diagnose my POAD. I'm awaiting Angioplasty but in the present climate of huge waiting lists plus our Vascular services being under special measures its looking like a long wait. My quality of life has been stunted for 18 months. I can walk a little better now that I'm on Blood thinners and statins but only a fraction of the speed and distance I used to walk. My PMR/GCA journey seems to be going much better. I was whacked on 60mg when finally diagnosed a year ago and am currently reduced to 3mg with no adverse affect🤞

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Keystarburst]

I am always sceptical when a doctor asserts something is not possible!!!! My husband's field was vascular medicine and I doubt he would have said it was impossible!

[Keystarburst in reply to PMRpro]

That's very interesting to know thank you

[Keystarburst in reply to PMRpro]

I'm kind of thinking that maybe the blood thinners/improved blood flow may be helping in some way or other with the inflammation of PMR + and that in turn is helping with my pred reduction which has been going so well up to now 🤞🤔

[Dochaz in reply to Keystarburst]

What a nightmare! I'm sort of hoping these calf pains will go away. Some days I'm ok, others I'm in agony. Glad to hear you're on the way to remission!

[Keystarburst in reply to Dochaz]

Wishing you all the best in your journey x

[Keystarburst]

Oh me again 😀 I have to walk everywhere slower and stop for a minute or two when pain of claudication gets too much. Seems to get better as I go along but can be more tiring especially if I have to drag a numb foot along. The numbness has got better with regular blood thinners meds.

[Noosat]

Do you do stretching exercises before you walk in order to loosen muscles ? Just a though

[Dochaz in reply to Noosat]

Not something I do generally, but I probably should!

[Noosat in reply to Dochaz]

i start doing in my morning shower, I think the hot watr helps